My guess is that many will not recall this film as part of
that initial 3-D wave that took place during the fifties. I was surprised to
find that it was released that way. I was even more surprised to learn that it
did well at the box office. For me it wasn’t that great a movie, but it was
interesting to view and consider how racy it was considered at the time. In a
world where prostitutes are recurring characters on TV shows and porn is
available at the press of a button this movie seems quaint in its moral
dilemma.
Rita Hayworth stars as the title character, a brassy woman
on her way to another island in the South Pacific just after the war whose ship
strands her on a military base when it has problems. Thompson garners the
attention of every military man on the island, all wishing they were the one to
romance her but who lose out to Sgt. Phil O’Hara (Aldo Ray) who falls hard for
her.
Unfortunately for Sadie another visitor to the island is on
hand as well, Alfred Davidson (Jose Ferrer), the son of missionaries who is
there to carry on his father’s work. This is the sort of character who finds
fault in most everyone else but himself, in particular the way the island
natives behave and in Sadie who he recognizes. When he follows up on his hunch
he discovers that Sadie is a woman wanted for solicitation in Honolulu and he
blackmails her into returning to the states to serve her time. The conflict
between the fun loving independent woman and the staunch religious fanatic
should be the center piece of the film. And yet it never quite feels that way.
Therein lies the biggest problem with this movie. Based on
the short story by W. Somerset Maugham the heart of the story (as well as
several other movies based on the tale) revolves around these two as well as
the temptation that Davidson feels for Sadie. But that temptation is rarely on
display here until very near the end of the film when suddenly he is drawn to
her, shattering her changed outlook on life. This should have been a smoldering
item that grew as the film moved forward and instead here it feels like a
random explosion.
The pacing of the film seems leaden but the acting is great.
Hayworth turns in a fantastic performance with what she is provided and does a
wonderful bit of singing and dancing for the military personnel at a local
club. But Ray’s character feels forced, ready to marry Sadie at the drop of a
hat. The horn dog nature of the soldiers and sailors in the film is at best
like a caricature and so over the top you wonder how they survive with little
to no women to look at.
If made today (and I’m surprised it hasn’t been) Hollywood
would have a heyday with this story, pitting a staunch conservative religious
fanatic against an easy going free spirit who simply wants to have fun. But
that shows the difference in time periods when you consider that at the time
this film was considered racy and morally questionable. For me the entire movie
honestly felt kind of boring. I found myself dozing on more than one occasion.
But for those who love the film and Rita Hayworth you can’t
find a better presentation of this movie. Twilight Time (whose praises I
constantly sing) has done the film right with as clear and clean a presentation
on blu-ray as you will find. Included with the movie are extras like an isolated
music & effects track, audio commentary track with film historians David
Del Valle and Steven Peros, an introduction by actress Patricia Clarkson and
the original film trailer. I may have to watch this one start to finish with
the commentary track on to see what I was missing. For most it will be a movie
to bypass but for fans of classic movies and Hayworth you’ll add this one to
your collection.
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